A Statue and A Compass
by ScriptaHistoriarum
Summary: Marinette is pretty much frustrated. Adrien is the one who, unbeknownst to him, holds her heart, but ever since Luka came in the picture, she doesn't know how to feel anymore. Sigh, why do crushes have to be so hard...


**I'm back from England! It was super fun, but tiring and I'm glad to be home. I'll update POV later this week, but after watching the new episode I just had to write this. Just a little interpretation of what could happen after Captain Hardrock. Enjoy!**

* * *

"That was awesome!" Marinette gushed to Rose. "You guys were so good! You definitely were the better addition to the festival."

"Thank you, Marinette," Rose beamed back, grabbing the darker haired girl's hands in glee. "Glad you liked it so much. Maybe next year you can participate with us! I heard from Alya that you have a beautiful voice."

Marinette's eyes widened and she retrieved her hands to fumble with them. "W-what? Psh, no way. Me? Singing? No, I-I'm no good at that, Alya was just exaggerating."

"You sing, Marinette?" A male voice asked behind her. The low sound gave her nice chills, _but they shouldn't be nice and they shouldn't be there in the first place because there is only one person who is allowed to give her those chills-_

Marinette turned to Luka with a squeak. "Luka! Uhm, I mean, Luka, hey." When there was no response she waved lamely at him and she felt like the biggest idiot in the entire world.

He chuckled behind his hand. "Hey. So, you liked the festival?"

"Very! It was so cool. I've seen a few other shows on my phone, b-but I stayed here for most of the time. I wanted to see you- EVERYONE, of course…" She giggled and turned a little red.

His only reaction was an amused smile. "And you sing I heard?"

"No!" She yelled back, cringing a second later at her loudness. "Alya was saying that, but trust me, I _can't_ sing."

He put a hand on her shoulder, making her stare at him in awe. "As a musician myself, I'll be the judge of that. I believe that everyone can make music or sing. They just need to find whatever is in their hearts. Maybe we can jam sometimes and see what's inside there." He poked the spot on her collarbone instead of the intended place of her heart to make the gesture appropriate.

Marinette inwardly sighed. He was such a gentleman.

"S-sure, we can do that some time…"

"Cool." A loud bang was heard in the distance. Luka twisted towards the source of the noise and saw Juleka struggling with a speaker. "Dang, guess I need to help my sister. See ya later, Marinette." With a quick wave and wink he was gone, leaving Marinette to stand by herself until a hand on her back pulled her out of her stupor.

"Girl, you've got it bad. That compass of yours is going crazy, isn't it?" Alya laughed.

"No," she retorted with a pout. "Like I said before, there is only one statue that drives this compass crazy. And it's right over there." She pointed to Adrien putting the keyboard in its cover.

"Uh-huh," Alya said with a cocked eyebrow. "Let's make that compass crazy then." Without another word, Alya pushed Marinette in his direction, making her stumble and fall on her knees in front of him.

"Marinette! Are you okay?" He immediately went to aid her, pulling her up and checking for bruises. "That was a nasty drop."

"I'm fine," she answered, dusting off her pants. "It's not really anything new to me, is it?" She laughed lightly.

Adrien awkwardly chuckled back, not sure if she meant it as a joke or a serious fact. "So, what did you think of the show? I thought it was amazing! I could have never imagined playing along with them!"

"You did great," she praised. "I knew that you played piano, but I've never seen you play before. You're incredibly skilled."

"Thanks! My father taught me a lot, but with him it's never as much fun as it was to play here tonight…" He sighed and his shoulders hunched.

"Hey, don't be sad." She patted his shoulder and a slight smile appeared on his face. "Tonight was fun. Just think about that."

"Thank you, Marinette. You're right. Tonight _was_ fun. And I still have exactly 46 minutes left before I get picked up." He looked around him, seeing that no one needed any help anymore with cleaning. "You want to get some ice cream or something? I heard André is close by!"

Ah, André's ice scream. Getting his ice cream together with Adrien was a dream come true for Marinette, yet her mouth thought otherwise.

"Nah, don't really feel like it," she waved it off, "I think I'm just gonna head home, I'm pretty tired."

"Oh," he pouted. "All right. Maybe I'll head out somewhere with Nino then. Have a nice night, Marinette. See you at school!"

She waved over her shoulder at him when she started to head for the exit of the boat. "You too! See you at school, Adrien."

She neared Alya who stared at her with crossed arms. She had a look that was a combination of being amused and not being amused at all.

Noticing the stare she was given, Marinette shrugged. "What?"

"What happened to Miss 'I can barely speak in front of him and if I do I'm gonna die of shame'?"

"What do you mean? I've talked to Adrien on some occasions. This was just one of them. You're making this a bigger deal than it is, Alya."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not just seeing things, girl. There's something up with you and Luka." Marinette wanted to retort but Alya shushed her. "And I'm not saying that that's a bad thing. It's normal to like multiple people at the same time, healthy even. It looks like the dude's into you too, in my opinion." The girls shared a glance at Luka, who they caught staring in their direction before returning to his duties. "See? That wasn't me he was looking at. Believe me, that guy wants to get to know you better and I say go for it."

"But Adrien-"

"To be honest, Marinette, Adrien is cute and all and you guys are definitely my OTP, but we both know he sees you as a friend. Maybe one day he'll think differently, but that day is not now. Maybe it's time to look around for a bit. Or look to your right." As a reflex, Marinette checked her right, even though she knew that that was where Luka was. "I'm not pushing you into anything you don't want to do, but I'm just saying to _think_ about it, okay? No pressure."

Marinette exhale deeply. She didn't need this right now, didn't want this right now. Maybe Alya was right though. She has been trying so much for a while now and Adrien still didn't see her as more than a friend. Perhaps it was time to move on…

"Fine."

* * *

"Hello, M'Lady," Chat Noir said as a greeting when he landed. "You're as beautiful as this evening, as usual." He bowed in front of her.

Ladybug smiled poorly and gave him a scratch on the head, though not moving from her spot sitting on the roof she was on. "Hey, kitty."

He frowned. "You seem upset. Something the matter?" He got right at it, sitting down next to her with a concerned look. "Can I help?"

She shook her head. "Something with my civilian life, so no."

"You can be vague."

"Chat-"

"I just don't like seeing you like this. Let me help."

She rubbed her forehead, more because of her problem than his insistence of helping her despite their secret identities being at stake. "Okay, you win. So, there is this boy."

"That boy you liked?"

"Yeah…" She should have known he would remember, yet she wasn't sure if she was happy with that. "And I still like him, I think. No! I know that I still like him, I think- Wait!" She sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that I like this boy, but there is this other guy that I met recently and now I'm really confused and don't know what to do!" She spoke everything in one breath and slumped down against his shoulder. "It's frustrating me and I'm just a little lost."

Hearing her talk about other boys she liked was a dagger through his heart, but he would do anything to make her happy. Even helping her win the heart of someone else. "Have you asked either of them out yet?"

"No! No, no, no, I definitely will never do that. I embarrass myself enough during the day as it is, I don't need a rejection on top of that."

He hummed in thought. "This other guy, you said you met recently?" She nodded. "Do you know him well yet?" She shook her head. "Then that's settled. Hang out with him and see who you like better afterwards. Sure, it sounds lame, but there isn't much you can do if you don't want to ask anyone out yet, right?"

That made sense. "I see where you're coming from…"

"And if either of them likes you back, the choice will be easier. You just need to figure it out. But who can't like you?" He scoffed as if the thought was ridiculous.

She smiled a genuine smile and rubbed him underneath his chin. "Thanks, Chat. I kind of needed that. You actually helped me a lot."

He smiled in return, though it was laced with a hint of sadness. "Anything for you, M'Lady."

* * *

The school bell rang, indicating that the long, boring, tiresome day was finally over. Rose skipped on the stairs outside, heading for her bike until she spotted someone near the entrance. The person was sitting with folded legs on the edge of the stairs and was… meditating.

"Luka?"

He opened his eyes and unfolded his legs, stretching them before standing. "Good afternoon, Rose."

"Hello! What are you doing here? Are you here to pick up Juleka?"

"No, I'm actually here for Marinette."

"Marinette?" She questioned. That was news to her. She never knew that they hit it off that well during the festival and that they wanted to hang out again.

"Yeah. Jul told me she wanted to hang out with me so we called for a bit, made plans and here I am. Oh, there she is," he said when he spotted her coming through the large entrance doors. "Marinette, hey! Are you ready?"

"Luka, you're early," Marinette greeted back. "I thought I had to wait a few minutes for you."

"I would never make you wait," he spoke, earning himself a quiet giggle and a light flush. "All ready?" He repeated.

"Yes, I am! Bye, Rose." She waved at her friend as she descended the stairs with him.

"Bye…" Rose waved loosely, pretty much in shock at this occurrence. She heard from Juleka that Luka talked about 'that friend Marinette of hers' and that they had called, but she never sought anything behind it.

Seeing Marinette and Luka laugh as they headed for her house made her smile, but also suspicious.

One thing was for sure. She was going to discuss this with the rest of the girl gang.

* * *

The laughing from upstairs was constant, so was the musical sound of a guitar. They were surprised to even hear someone sing that sounded like Marinette, but they weren't sure it was her.

What they sure of though was that their daughter was having fun with this new 'friend' of hers. Yes, she called him her friend when she introduced him, but they were her parents. They knew everything that was to know about her and they could see right through her.

The shop was already closed for the day. Tom was busy kneading dough to rise for the next morning. Having nothing to do, Sabine offered her help and took an amount of dough herself.

"So, what do you think of this new guy Marinette has brought upstairs?" Sabine asked, already knowing the fatherly answer her husband was going to give.

He grumbled. "As long as he doesn't try funny stuff, all is fine by me. He can even stay for dinner if he wants."

"I think he's a sweet guy. They're such a lovely match," she casually mentioned with another knead of the dough.

Tom almost dropped his own lump of to-be-bread, but caught it in time. "Match you say? I thought she liked that Adrien kid. He's a nice boy."

"Oh, but didn't you see? She mentioned she had Luka coming over today and this morning she removed all her posters in her room. If that doesn't mean something."

"Psh, it's just a phase. I guarantee you that in a few weeks it's gonna be 'Adrien, oh Adrien' all over again."

Sabine laughed behind her flour-covered hand. "Remind me to make you use that high-pitched voice again. But, if I know my daughter, and I like to think I do, then I know that she doesn't just jump from boy to boy without reason. I'm sure this one is a keeper."

"Wanna bet?" He smirked. "I think Adrien will be back on her mind as soon as this is over. You think otherwise?" He held out his hand for her to shake.

She took his hand without question. "You're on. What's the bet for?"

He pondered about that. "Not sure yet, but we'll figure it out." They silently went back to kneading the dough. After a few quiet minutes, Tom turned to his wife. "Sabine?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Are we bad parents?"

"For betting on our daughter's love life?"

"Yes."

Silence, both thinking about that.

"Nah, we're awesome," they spoke in unison.

* * *

Luka and Marinette hung out more often than not. They had quickly shared numbers after their first meet up and texted nonstop ever since. He came over by the bakery lots of times or picked her up from school to go to his house or some place in town to visit. Everywhere he went, Luka brought his guitar. Whenever he could, he played for her, sometimes having her even sing along and it always made her smile.

It was still… frustrating though. She tried to keep this quiet as long as she could, but Rose had spilled the beans to the rest of the girls and they instantly interrogated her, especially Alya. She would have expected Juleka to be a bit upset, it was still her brother after all, but she nonchalantly said that she didn't care if she dated him.

Which was the problem exactly. They weren't dating… yet. They had only hung out. Yes, they spend a lot of time together and if they weren't then they were texting, but nothing that could be considered romantic had occurred. No kiss, no sign, no anything! Sure, Marinette could take the initiative, but she obviously couldn't! She was figuring things out and people like Alya and Tikki weren't helping.

Alya was constantly on her back, asking her how things were going and if certain steps were taken yet. The idea of Luka and her going out was very exciting to her and she was full-on supportive.

Tikki, for some reason, was very insistent on keeping her hopes up for Adrien and that she would thank her later for it. It wasn't that she didn't like Luka, but she just said that Adrien was better for her.

She also noticed her parents chuckling whenever Luka came by or if either boys' names were mentioned, but she tried to ignore it.

It was the end of a school day yet again, and Marinette closed her locker with a grunt.

Ugh, she wanted to scream! Things were stressful right now and she needed someone to talk to. She couldn't go to Alya, Tikki would say the same as always, her parents were no help and Nino had already gone home.

She stepped out of the front doors. Having already expected the rain that was pouring, she opened the black umbrella she had. She had kept it in her locker to use ever since Adrien gave it to her.

 _Sigh… Adrien…_

She held the umbrella right above her head and that was when she saw him.

He was sitting on the steps, probably waiting on his car. His hair was sticking to his face and his clothes were drenched. If he would sit outside like that he could catch a cold! Marinette hurried to his side and loomed above him, holding the umbrella out so it would shield him too.

He was surprised by the sudden lack of rain on his body and looked up in shock. "Oh, it's you. Hey, Marinette."

She sat down next to him, still holding the umbrella up for both of them. "Hey. What are you doing out here without any coat or umbrella yourself?"

He shrugged. "I forgot to bring anything. I thought my ride would be here sooner, so I waited here. And I'm wet already so I saw no use in going back inside."

"You can get sick, you know?"

He wordlessly shrugged again.

"Here." She put the umbrella in his hand. "Take it. My house is close by anyway. You need it more than I do. See you tomorrow, Adrien."

"Wait!" He called when she was about to get up and he grabbed her wrist. "Can you stay here until my driver comes? To keep me company?"

"Sure…" She sat down again. Adrien was the one holding the umbrella up for the both of them now.

"How are things with Luka?" He suddenly asked. "I heard from Alya and Nino that you guys are a thing? Congrats, he's a cool dude."

Marinette squeaked. "Thanks… but we're not really a thing. I mean, I like him but nothing has really happened yet. And I'm not even sure if I want anything to happen, because there is you- Hahaha, why am I even telling you this, you don't have to listen to me ramble about guys, that's where Alya's for, right? Hahaha…."

He chuckled. "It's okay, I don't mind." She sighed in relief but didn't start any further conversation. When he figured she wasn't going to speak, he did so himself. "But do you want to be with him or not?"

"W-what?"

"Luka. You said you guys weren't together, but you do like him, yet you're not sure if you want anything to happen. Do you think you can see yourself with him like that?"

She stared at him as he spoke his words, getting lost in the green of his eyes. "I don't know," she almost whispered. "I don't think so to be honest."

"Why?" He never let his gaze falter.

"Because…" A thunder was heard in the distance and it startled them, but she continued. "Luka is a nice guy, but… I think I like someone else better."

He smiled at her. "Really?"

"Y-yeah. He's really s-sweet." She stammered again and she cursed herself for it.

"I'm sure he's a lucky guy if you like him that much."

She giggled softly at her own little inside joke. "I like to think so too."

A honk from a car was heard. Both Marinette and Adrien saw the luxurious car of the Agreste mansion waiting for the latter, the driver impatiently honking again.

"That's my ride. Thanks for the talk, Marinette." He got up from his spot and extended his hand to hoist her up too.

"No, thank _you_. You, uhm, really helped me…"

"You're welcome." The car honked yet again and Adrien sighed. "See you tomorrow."

He walked down the steps and she waved. "Uh-huh! S-see you tomo-tomor-" She giggled out loud, but inwardly sighed. "Why am I stammering?" She mumbled. Adrien stepped inside the car and was thus out of earshot.

Tikki appeared from Marinette's little bag with a knowing look and a chuckle. "I think I might have an idea."

Marinette blushed and grumbled, going down the steps herself. She went on her way home, already soaked through, but she didn't mind. Once home, she changed out of her wet clothes in her pajamas and laid down on her chaise, staring at the ceiling with a smile.

There indeed was only one statue that could make her compass go crazy.

* * *

 **So, a little oneshot with what could happen between Marinette and Luka.**

 **Captain Hardrock was a good episode, but I'm going to be seriously dissapointed if Luka will make no appearance anymore (for instance with Lila and Kagami so far). To be honest, I kind of doubt it and I'm pretty sure he'll come back. He has become such a hype and they've created a plot that could happen with him. I actually really ship Luka and Marinette and want to see what will happen.**

 **Btw, there is a lot of hate going around and let me tell you this; Adrien and Marinette, in whatever ship form, is endgame. Let us all enjoy the journey and drama of the show until it ends. I understand people want to see them together, but if that would be the case right now, the show would be done already (not counting the reveal, but you get me) and we wouldn't get to enjoy it for as long as is planned right now.**

 **That is all. Rant over, Scripta out.**


End file.
